Kingsgate Animal Hospital in West Chester, Ohio

Since I was in 7th grade, I have volunteered at an animal hospital close to my house. I have shadowed the veterinarian there, gaining both scientific knowledge and communication skills that are necessary with the job. This is the vet’s office that my family has taken our pets for about 15 years. I consider myself very fortunate to be given this opportunity to learn what it takes to be a successful veterinarian first hand.

For my first 2 summers, I was just standing and watching how appointments would go, and then the vet would teach me various scientific ideas as well, like how to calculate a dosage, what medicine to give, and also some anatomy which was extremely helpful when I took anatomy in high school. During my 3rd summer, I was able to do some of the things around the office such as developing slides, drawing vaccines, and helping hold down some of the more energetic animals that would come in.

This place is extremely significant for me because every time I walk in this place, I am reminded of my long life goal of becoming a veterinarian. It is still a long road before that dream can be a reality, but it is nice to walk in to that office and see what can be 10 years down the line. I also am reminded how important it is to help people. Without the kindness of this veterinarian taking time out of her very busy schedule to teach me all these various things about the practice, I would not be the person I am today.

This picture is of Fred Beetman Park here at Ohio State. On April 21, 2017, I got to run a 5k with some friends at this location. This 5k was to raise money for an organization called REACH, which focuses on suicide prevention and awareness. This was a wonderful event to participate in because I knew I was running for a good cause and help raise money for an organization that saves lives year in and year out.

One of my favorite things at OSU is attending football games every Saturday in the fall. I am hoping that I can get more involved with Block O in the next two years because I feel like I have found a real connection by spending time at Block O meetings and attending different games.

This picture was taken at BuckeyeThon. This was easily my favorite part of second semester. Not only was I with friends for 12 hours straight, but I raised 1000 dollars for cancer research. This experience also meant a great deal to me because BuckeyeThon occurred on February 9th, the same day that my cousin who passed away from cancer last year was born. Watching my cousin fight cancer was the roughest time in my life, but also gave me an insight on what countless other families face as well. BuckeyeThon reminded me how precious life is and continued to inspire to work in a field that can have a direct impact on the health and well-being of others. This just continued to tell me to keep working hard in school, get a good job in a health field, and work to make the lives of patients better.